Akrotiri

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Removed from the so called 'Captains House' this fresco is thought to depict a sea battle between the Minoans and Libyans.
The 'paintings' at the exhibition held in the cellars of the Conference Center in Fira, are faithful recreations of the originals.  The process was discovered by Kodak and developed by the French company Transfer Relief.  The frescoes are chromatometricaly measured then photographed to produce high quality negatives.  After calibrating and developing the colour photographs the photographic emulsion is taken off.  The resulting gelatin of the image is naturally elastic and can be transferred to a reconstituted surface.  The result is remarkably realistic.
The  gentleman selling tickets made our visit unforgettable.   He was very knowledgeable about Akrotiri, the frescoes and Greek history in general.  He  enthusiastically explained their significance then sent us back again and again to 'observe'.  We were enchanted.
Just as Blue was  used in ancient civilizations to  decorate  buildings to ward off evil, it was also common on special occasions like birthdays and the  initiation of adolescence  to  shave parts of their heads and  smear them with blue paint.

Although the mineral colours in the paintings were remarkably well preserved the colour green is absent.   The  organic egg and saffron used to create it evaporated in the intense heat.

This painting of a young fisherman is one of the most famous found on the site.  Another is of two boys boxing.
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